Simon Underwood

@lizardbrain-art.bsky.social

1874 Followers 153 Following

Portland illustrator and comic book crafter. Swords, sorcery, trees, skulls, doom. For commissions, merch, and my comics (ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO OUT NOW!), check out www.lizardbrainart.com

Ink illustration of a small ruined castle on a mountain spire. A huge, sinuous, dragonlike creature curls around the tower, peering down at a weary warrior approaching up stairs carved into the rock. The sky is full of dark stormclouds, but a sunbeam illuminates the scene.
Small clay sculpture of the Nuckelavee, a nightmarish monster from Orkney folklore that looks like a skinless, cyclopean man merged with an equally skinless horse. The creature was said to emerge from the sea and poison the land with its caustic breath.
Close-up of a work in progress ink illustration showing the head of a dragon-like creature looming over a collapsing castle ruin, with thick, dark clouds in the background.
Closeup of a work-in-progress ink illustration showing a partially shaded castle ruin with a dragon looming over it.
Illustration depicting two statues of eldritch beings. The left one is round and molluscoid, with worshippers kneeling in a pool before it. The right one is sharp and angular, with worshippers dancing naked with torches in front of it.
Emblem depicting a reptilian warrior emerging from a stone frame. It is wearing bronze and leather armor and a helm crested with horns and feathers. It holds a bronze sword in its right hand and a human skull in its left. Below the frame are the words "lizardbrain art" in an archaic font.
A terrible three panel comic about me learning that seaweed is a protist, not a plant.
Photograph of a large work-in-progress ink illustration featuring a dragon-like creature curled around a ruined castle tower on a clifftop. A small figure wearily carrying a sword approaches the tower from stairs cut into the rock.
Pen and ink illustration of Jirel of Joiry staring down the demon Illuyanka, from "Jirel Meets Death" by Molly Tanzer. Jirel wears an archaic tunic, cloak and sword, and stares defiantly at the tusked, snake-maned, leonine face of the demon, who coils its snakelike body around her and puts a massive paw on her shoulder.
Watercolor illustration of the Amazons from the Iliad, riding into battle. Behind them, divided into a separate image, is a grey river landscape. By Alan Lee. I had his illustrated LOTR as a kid, but also Black Ships Before Troy, an abridged adaptation of the Iliad he illustrated. I always loved his solemn, ethereal figures and misty landscapes.
Photograph of a foggy alpine ridge, rocks and scrub fading into the mist.
Red and black ink illustration of a hulking goat-like demonic warrior in elaborate armor, holding a flaming sword in one hand and a kneeling minion in the other. It is surrounded by small imp warriors reminiscent of medieval demons.
Pen and ink drawing of Red Sonja ambushing a couple of unsuspecting barbarian warriors. She leaps off a rock, sword above her head, bare-chested and yelling, as one hapless warrior turns to look at her in shock.
Pen and ink illustration of a mob of medieval villagers standing framed by two buildings. They tentatively hold various makeshift weapons and face away from the viewer towards a windswept hill, where stands the silhouette of a menacing beast. Fog drifts beneath a dark sky in the background.
Photo of a concerned man wearing an early Medieval helmet with a comically large nasal guard
Colored ink drawing of Orlaith from Dread Delusion. She carries her huge greatsword over her shoulder. An ornate magical key floats above her left hand. The background is split between large glass tanks holding ancient corpses and a scene of huge mushrooms and floating islands beneath the sunlike Neuron Star. Its long flares wind through the magenta background.
Stipple-heavy pen portrait of a gaunt bald man with a piercing gaze.
Ink illustration on two goat scapulae (shoulder blades): on the left, a knight wields a halberd surrounded by ivy vines. The Latin word INCREMENTUM (growth) is in the top corner of the bone. On the right, a dragon breathing fire, surrounded by burning vines. In the top corner, the Latin word INTERITUS (destruction).
Photograph of a comic panel depicting an ancient warrior in bronze armor, wielding a battle-axe and menacingly stomping toward ls the viewer
Gouache and ink painting depicting a Sardaukar from Dune being ambushed by a Fremen warrior bursting from the sand.
Pen and ink illustration depicting a halfling necromancer riding on the shoulders of a zombie. She has a gleefully crazed expression as she points her unwitting steed onward with a hand holding an obsidian ritual dagger. A huge crescent moon is visible in the background.
Screenshot of my Steam Library showing the covers of my favorite games: Control, Disco Elysium, Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, Valheim, The WItcher 3, Kenshi, Noita, and Outer Wilds
Comic cover with the title "THE ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO" in a jagged, flowing script. The image shows a broken statue in the middle of a desert, leaning off its pedestal and half buried in sand. Details of the statue suggest it may not be depicting a human. The long, bony legs of an unknown creature creep out from behind the statue.
Ink drawing of a skeleton, richly armored in decorated chainmail with a feather-crested helmet and carrying a massive leaf-bladed greatsword, stepping out of a sarcophagus surrounded by grave goods. A shaft of light from above illuminates the scene and a crumbling tapestry in the background.
Five triangular comic panels depicting a fist-sized insect approaching a sitting man, a huge ruined temple with flying creatures nesting in its destroyed upper level, a salt-lake shoreline with a multilimbed creature visible behind a salt pillar, a red rock canyon filled with strange, broken statues, and a violently red sunset over a blasted desert landscape.
Gouache painting depicting a knight rising out of a murky green ocean. Their armor is dripping with slime and embellished with coral-like growths. Their helmet resembles a cephalopod and many eyes are visible behind the tentacled visor. Eldritch monoliths protrude from the waves in the background.
Ink drawing depicting a dilapidated street lined with the crumbling shells of buildings. Plants grow over the ruins, and a line of tall spruce trees runs across the background. An elk crosses the street in the foreground, looking away from the viewer at the shape of a huge goat-headed man looming above the treeline. A crescent moon hangs behind his horns.
Pen and ink illustration depicting a crater in the middle of a sparse pine forest. A glowing meteor sits in the depression, and facing it, a woman kneels, head upturned towards the starry sky. Three large, eldritch beasts approach through the trees towards the meteor. The first has many tall, jointed legs and a bony head. The second is serpentine, with a loop-shaped head fronted by tendrils. The third is a dark, six-limbed figure with a featureless bullet-shaped head and glowing eyespots on its chest.
9-square grid with a photo of my morose-looking face in the center. It is surrounded by 8 detail shots of my artwork: (clockwise from top left) a werewolf, a warrior battling an undead monstrosity, a woman staring down a snake-haired leonine demon, a woman's head on a crab-like body with a mischievous expression, an eyeless lich on a firelit throne, a warrior battling a variety of skeletons and demons, an elk crossing a mossy log in the deep forest, and a huge spindly-legged monster amidst pine trees.
Rough thumbnail sketch showing a warrior battling a variety of monsters and skeletons as he descends an underground staircase.
Pen and ink illustration depicting a crater in the middle of a sparse pine forest. A glowing meteor sits in the depression, and facing it, a woman kneels, head upturned towards the starry sky. Three large, eldritch beasts approach through the trees towards the meteor. The first has many tall, jointed legs and a bony head. The second is serpentine, with a loop-shaped head fronted by tendrils. The third is a dark, six-limbed figure with a featureless bullet-shaped head and glowing eyespots on its chest.
Closeup of a work-in-progress ink drawing of a pine forest at night, lit from below by an unseen source. The shapes of large creatures can be seen among the trees.
Lars Mikkelsen as Captain Anderson in Frankenstein (2025), a character who looks exactly like my dad. No comparison photo of my dad is necessary because you wouldn't be able to tell them apart.
Work-in-progress photo of a comic panel featuring a richly dressed, crowned corpse turning its head to ward the viewer. The clothing and jewelry suggest an ancient, mummified king or sorcerer. At the top of the panel, a shadowy form can be glimpsed clinging to the top of the corpse's crown.
A green illustration on a black background, featuring the words "MOVIE MADNESS" in a font that suggests bad VHS tracking. In the center of the image, four monsters burst out of a vintage TV set--the werewolf from An American Werewolf in London, the creature from The Thing, half-human and half nightmarish alien, the dripping Tarman zombie from Return of the Living Dead, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon reaching toward the viewer.
Pen and ink illustration depicting a darkened doorway in a stone wall. A robed scholar scrambles away from the doorway in a panic, having dropped his writing implements, as a monstrous, glowing apparition manifests in the darkness beyond. At first glance, it appears vaguely humanoid, but has the suggestion of three heads, many mouths, and an indeterminate number of limbs.
Block-printed image in green ink depicting an arm holding a short sword bursting from the undergrowth on a forest floor. Above it are the words "FIGHT FOR LIFE"
Pen-and-ink poster illustration. A number of monstrous limbs reach out from behind a steel door, chained and padlocked. The words "CREATURE FEATURES" are drippily painted on the door. A creature that resembles a spidery crustacean with a human woman's head scuttles across the door, approaching the padlock with a key in one claw and a mischievous expression on her face.
Illustration from "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" by Clark Ashton Smith. Two thieves stand in a dark room surrounded by the silhouettes of various reptilian creatures. One man holds a lockpick and is looking eagerly into the chest of glowing treasure he just opened, while the other, holding a dagger, glances nervously behind him.
Photograph of me. I am standing on a dock with a cup of coffee overlooking a large lake surrounded by firs. Mt. Hood is visible in the background.
Closeup of a rad silver skull earring
Two comic panels showing an extreme close-up of a man's dirty, tired face as he wakes up. A large, pale insect is licking the dirt off his skin. They notice each other with alarm as the man comes to.
Gouache painting of Ged, the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea, sailing in his boat Lookfar. He holds onto the rigging, his staff leaned on his shoulder. A couple of craggy, forested islands are visible in the background over the foggy ocean, and a dragon flies through the overcast sky in the distance.
Album cover featuring a warrior descending a winding staircase in a huge cavern. Behind him, the stairs lead up to an open doorway surrounded by shattered remnants of the door and with light pouring through. Ahead of him, a horde of undead and demons advance up the stairs, and he fights them with an axe and shield. Small dragonlike creatures flap about overhead.
The Finnish mythological hero Vainamoinen sits under a pine tree in a mossy meadow, playing a kantele made of a large jawbone. His sword leans against the tree trunk. Various forest animals gather to listen to his music.
Gouache painting of a fully armored warrior standing in the desert with sunset clouds behind them. Their armor is brick red and resembles a carapace in places. They carry a falchion which also has an organic quality to it. Their eyes glow green from behind a full face mask.
Photo of my workspace with a drawing desk and art supplies. The wall behind it is covered in a variety of skeleton-based art
Cover for Old Moon Quarterly--A female necromancer descends the steps of a castle keep, wearing black armor and a horned helmet, a falcata in one hand and a spell readied in the other. She is surrounded by skeleton warriors in a variety of gear.
Poster illustration featuring a Pacific Northwest forest scene framed between the trunks of two red cedars. The shape of a humanoid forest spirit is visible in the bark of both trees. A creek runs between them, bridged by a mossy fallen log, upon which stands an elk glancing toward the viewer. There is an altar of piled stones, sticks and animal bones on the bank. The words "CASCADIAN MIDSUMMER" in a jagged font are visible between the branches in the upper part of the image.
Two hulking Goliath brothers stand next to each other. One wields a heavy morningstar and a crescent-shaped shield, and has the phases of the moon tattooed on his bare chest. The other kneels, wearing a pendant of the black circle of the goddess Shar. His face is heavily scarred, and shadow magic coalesces around his left fist.
Colored sketch of three sorcerers. The first is a sitting giant engulfed in green flame. His head above his eyesockets is hollow and filled with the fire. He is naked except for black iron jewelry and holds an archaic iron sword. The second is floating, a small body hidden under a red cloak. A number of irregular limbs dangle from beneath the cloak. A hood painted with two vertically stacked eyes obscures the face. The third is a lanky figure in a blue and white robe and red-crested bronze mask. His right arm branches into two forearms at the elbow, both gripping a bronze-tipped staff that glows with arcane energy. Four glowing eyes peer out from the mask above a face that seems ornamental.
Elden Ring fanart of a barbarian hero wielding a large battleaxe fighting zombies in the scarlet-rotted Caelid Wilds. A monstrous crow caws in the background.
A warrior woman in ornate bronze scale armor crouches over a defeated foe, her sword still in his chest. In her other hand she clutches a dagger at the ready. Behind her is a blood-red sun.
A blue reptilian wizard crouches in a magic circle, wearing a feathered cloak and holding a staff, looking over its shoulder at a portal to the stars
A green reptilian archer wearing furs and scale armor.